Method of securing volumes of space in card readers

Abstract

Capacitive sensing electrodes may be placed in strategic locations inside, outside or inside and outside of a card reader, wherein touch sensor circuitry is then used to take mutual capacitance or self-capacitance measurements that are saved in non-volatile memory as a reference intrusion measurement that is not deleted when power is removed, wherein the reference intrusion measurement may then be used during subsequent intrusion measurements to determine if a skimming device has been disposed adjacent to the card reader, and if a skimming device is detected, appropriate action may be taken such as the automatic disabling of the card reader, the display of a message indicating that the card reader should not be used, or any other action that may prevent a financial card from being compromised.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]This invention relates generally to card readers. More specifically, the present invention relates to the ability to detect skimming devices that are attached to the outside of a financial card reader or inserted in a slot of a financial card reader by using capacitive sensing technology.[0003]2. Description of Related Art[0004]There are several designs for capacitive sensors that may be used to accomplish the purposes of the present invention. One of the existing capacitive sensor designs that can be modified to work with the present invention is a touchpad made by CIRQUE® Corporation. Accordingly, it is useful to examine the underlying technology to better understand how any capacitance sensitive touchpad can be modified to work with the present invention.[0005]The CIRQUE® Corporation touchpad is a mutual capacitance-sensing device and an example is illustrated as a block diagram in FIG. 1. In this touchpad 10, a grid...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention relates to a method for detecting intrusions involving capacitive sensing electrodes placed in strategic locations inside or outside of a card reader. The touch sensor circuitry measures mutual or self-capacitance, which is saved in non-volatile memory as a reference intrusion measurement that is not deleted when power is removed. This reference measurement is then used during subsequent measurements to determine if a skimming device has been placed adjacent to the card reader, and if so, what appropriate action should be taken to prevent card compromise or other financial damage. The invention is not limited to card readers and can also be used for tampering detection in other devices.

Problems solved by technology

A problem has arisen with financial card readers that are capable of reading smart contact or magnetic stripe cards.

Unfortunately, preventing a skimming device from being attached to the outside of a card reader or inside the card slot may be very difficult.

Unfortunately, skimming devices have become very professional looking and may now be very difficult to identify visually as well as by some sort of sensor.

Some limited success may have been achieved by using cameras to inspect surfaces for skimming devices.

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